Downhill skiing has been an established and popular winter sport for many years, but snowboarding is a relatively new innovation to the sport. Riding a snowboard down hill is similar to the ride and action of a surfboard on water. A snowboarder does not utilize ski poles and relies on the ability of shifting his weight from side to side and backwards and forwards to control the speed and direction of travel. At the end of a run, a snowboarder typically disengages the back or rear foot from the rear binding and advances to a chairlift or other destination by sliding the board forward with his front foot attached to the front binding and pushing with the back foot or performing the arduous task of removing both feet from the snowboard and walking through the snow. Oftentimes a snowboarder will become stalled in short flat areas between sloped sections of down hill runs and requires some means to push himself and get moving again.
A typical snowboard is a single board curved up at both ends and wider than a normal ski with a pair of boot bindings mounted on the board. Normally the binding for either the left foot or the right foot is located toward the front end of the snowboard and a binding for either the right foot or left foot is located toward the rear of the snowboard, with neither being directly parallel to the snowboard. The foot configuration is dependent on a snowboarder's stance preference. Normal ski poles are not used by snowboarders due to the rapid turning and manipulations required along with the stance the individual takes when engaged in the activity. Two poles would definitely not be suitable to the side stance of a snowboarder and a single long pole which cannot be quickly stowed would interfere with a snowboarder's ability to get into the bent knee or crouching position normally used on a downhill run.
Additionally, individuals in winter sports activities find the need for other tools and devices but have no place to carry or store them. Thus, there is a continuing need for improvement in the equipment used in the popular winter sports field.